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Julius Caesar Motivations Analysis

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Underlying every decision is a personal motive that pushes people to act certain ways or display certain behaviors. Motivations give reasoning to those actions or behaviors. Without motivations, actions are essentially purposeless. These motivations can stem from greed and jealousy to wanting to satisfy others. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, motivations are the basis of many of the critical and consequential decisions made. Motivations prompt the action of questionable decisions and give rationale to the behaviors of key characters throughout the play. Marc Antony’s devotion to Caesar and his longing for revenge on the conspirators is the motivating force behind his actions. From the very beginning, Antony’s …show more content…

Many senators believe Caesar's power is growing out of hand. They begin to realize the threat it poses to themselves and question his right to hold power. Cassius’s prominent jealousy towards that power is evident and he has no problem expressing his opinion about it with others. Cassius protests, “For my single self, / I had as lief not be as live to be / In awe of such a thing as I myself. / I was born as free as Caesar. So were you” (I.ii.96-99). Because Cassius views Caesar as so ordinary, he is jealous of the power he holds. If Caesar were to be truly more powerful and capable of ruling Rome than Cassius, he would not be as offended. More than just once does Cassius express his ill will towards Caesar’s position of influence over Rome and its people. Cassius complains, “Ye gods, it doth amaze me/ A man of such a feeble temper should / So get the start of the majestic world / And bear the palm alone” (I.ii.130-133). Cassius is aware of Caesar’s weaknesses and questions the people yet again as to why Caesar deserves the power he holds. If a man such as Caesar has the ability to rule a city, Cassius wonders why that same man cannot even take care of himself, comparing Caesar to a sick girl. Cassius

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620 Words | 3 Pages

The audience learns Cassius is a leader and does not believe any of his equals have the right to be above to him. It is apparent Cassius declares Caesar as his equal when he states, (1.2 99-101) “ I was born as free as Caesar, so were you. / We both have fed as well, and we can both / Endure the winter’s cold as well as he”.

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305 Words | 2 Pages

He could be manipulative and scheming, allowing his flesh to rule his heart. Cassius hated to be subservient to any man, and especially to Caesar. Upset by the rich and powerful who allowed Caesar to rule, he began to think of a way to remove Caesar from his throne. By using other men's good intentions, Cassius orchestrated and

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1206 Words | 5 Pages

Cassius totally self-centered was only worried about himself and his quest to ascend to power. He needed Caesar gone to make way for himself. His plan was off Caesar, play the conspirators and ascend to power. “I cannot tell what you and other men, Think of this life, but, for my single self, I had as lief not be as live to be, In awe of such a thing as I myself. I was born free as Caesar.

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Julius Caesar Essay Words are more powerful than weapons. Throughout the play of Julius Caesar the idea of powerful words is a key theme. Through speeches lies and cunning plans the characters in this play are able to convince people to join conspiracies and move people to action. This play reflects on the need for excellent speaking skills and its importance in ancient Rome, Elizabethan, and modern times.

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470 Words | 2 Pages

While Brutus maintains noble intentions, Cassius goes into this scheme with every intention of leaving everyone else behind to claim the power for himself, as he has been compelled by their society to do. Cassius tells Brutus that Caesar “doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus” while convincing him that Caesar is accumulating too much power for one man, despite harboring the belief that all of that power should be his (JC I.ii.142-143). To further prove his point to Brutus, Cassius gives Brutus fake letters telling him that the common people would rather have Brutus in charge than Caesar. While this is just Cassius himself manipulating Brutus, Cassius is motivated by the pressures of their society and Brutus, motivated by the belief that his society wants him to, joins the conspirators in their plot to kill Caesar and take power for themselves. Caught in a vicious cycle of societal pressure, these men continue to fight for power even after they achieve their original goal as evidenced by the civil war that breaks out following the assassination of Julius

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724 Words | 3 Pages

In this quote Cassius describes a time when Caesar and him were by the river and Caesar dared Cassius to swim to the other side. When he was in, Cassius told Caesar to join him so he did but realized he couldn’t swim and yelled for Cassius to help him. Cassius described it as a time when Caesar was not a mighty god like he had been chosen to be but instead was a weak man. Last off, Cassius thinks that Caesar’s temper is dangerous. Cassius states;

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Cassius wants Brutus to believe that their futures need to be changed because Caesar is leading them into tyranny. Cassius then uses flattery to show Brutus that he is equal in power to Caesar. “Brutus and Caesar… Write them together, yours is a fair a name”. Cassius explains this to Brutus that he is just as capable of reaching the height of power Caesar possesses. Following this conversation Cassius develops a plan to further manipulate Brutus.

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804 Words | 4 Pages

In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, Marc Antony appears to be a strong advocate for Julius Caesar’s triumphs and increasing power. However, like Caesar, Antony is extremely manipulative and powerful. After Caesar’s death, Antony manipulated the conspirators into believing he was on their side before requesting to speak at Caesar’s funeral. While Brutus and the conspirators remained fooled by Antony’s innocence, Antony took the initiative to inform the Roman citizens of the conspirator’s horrendous actions towards their beloved leader, Julius Caesar. Caesar’s funeral was a time of reflection for the citizens of Rome, as Marc Antony caused them to question their allegiance to Brutus.

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700 Words | 3 Pages

Sin’s Perpetrator and Victim Human desire knows no bounds; everyone thirsts for something. Some thirst for power, some for wealth, and others for truth. This thirst is a driving factor for most actions, but it is not always for the best. Nowhere else are the dangers of wanting more prevalent than in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. The underlying premise of the play is that one’s own ambition can end up destroying him/her and creating unintended chaos.

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951 Words | 4 Pages

In Act 1, Scene 2, Caesar expresses to Antony the uneasiness he feels about Cassius. Yet, he says “I rather tell thee what is to be fear’d than what I fear; for always I am Caesar” (1.2.223-224). Despite the warnings and omens and even his own feelings, Caesar fails to eliminate the dangerous figures such as Cassius because he believes that acting upon

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Essentially Cassius is saying they should go out and say to the public that they have given them freedom! He thinks that what he did saved the people of rome but all it really did wass lead to a power struggle and greedy people trying to take over rome. Cassius is the most responsible for the death of Julius Caesar because he participated and played a large roll in his

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1409 Words | 6 Pages

Unfortunately, Cassius uses Brutus’ altruistic characteristic and devout loyalty against him by sending fake letters with concerns regarding the crowning of Caesar for Brutus to read and be persuaded to join the conspirators. Cassius’ manipulation of Brutus serves as an example of how Shakespeare

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517 Words | 3 Pages

Cassius refuses to accept Caesar's rising power and deems a belief in fate to be nothing more than a form of passivity or cowardice. He says to Brutus: "Men at sometime were masters of their fates. / The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves, that we are underlings" (I.ii.140-142).

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1241 Words | 5 Pages

Cassius has proven physical superiority over Caesar but he once more uses the Metaphor of his weakness in power as a wretched creature to represent Caesar as a dictator to Brutus. When Cassius speaks to Casca to convince him to be a conspirator he states “Now could I, Casca, name to thee a man most like this dreadful night that thunders, lightens, opens graves, and roars as doth the lion in the Capitol.” (Shakespeare 1.3.73-76) Cassius uses metaphorical language to compare Caesar to a god, he uses the metaphor of a lion whose roar disrupts the entire capitol to show Casca that Caesar’s political might has risen to a Godly state has Rome has fallen into his hands. Lastly, in convincing Casca Cassius utters “And why should Caesar be a tyrant then? Poor man!

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In William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, Cassius is a foil to Marcus Brutus, for Brutus is consistently described as honorable and kind, contrasting the always clever and self-centered, Cassius. Cassius acts as a character who goes against the virtues and weaknesses of the main character. Brutus announces, “Why man, he doth bestride the narrow World like a Colossus, and we pretty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about To find ourselves dishonorable graves” (Shakespeare I. 2. 142-145). By appealing to Brutus' feeling of honor and loyalty to Rome, Cassius hopes to persuade him to join the conspiracy against Caesar.

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